The Secret of the Crescent Moons
by SugarLandBabyGirl
Summary: Van hasn't seen or spoken of his younger twin sister since the day that she was kidnapped right in front of him, nearly twelve years ago. Instinctually, he knows that she is alive somewhere and he sets off to find her. Meanwhile, deep in the desert a darkly cloaked and hooded male comes across an unconscious girl.
1. Prologue: The Moons Glowing Light

**A/N:** I do not own Zoids in any way, shape or form.

* * *

**Prologue:**

_The Moons Glowing Light_

'_Run. Don't stop. Just keep running. Don't look back. If you stop or turn back now, everything will be lost forever. You have to find it. You have to find… her. She can't hold on for much longer. Don't let her sip into darkness again. She is already almost gone! Run faster, her life depends on you and you alone. No one else can save her. Only you possess the light that can bring her back. She is vanishing into the shadows. You must run faster! You must stop the darkness from taking her! Hurry!'_

"No!" Van yelled as he bolted straight up in his bed, wide-eyed. His breaths came in ragged gasps, as if he had run a hundred mile marathon in less than a minute. A look of pure desperation and terror was etched across his face, while his right arm was subconsciously stretched out to its full length, as if he was trying to grab a hold of someone or something. It took Van a minute before he realized that he was not in the foreboding darkness of the mysterious dungeon-like cave, his unconscious mind had been taking him to every night.

The dark dreams had been plaguing him for over a month now, and they had always taken place in the dungeon-like cave. The unisex voice had never been so comprehensible, as it had been this night. When the dreams or rather nightmares had first started he could only hear indistinguishable whispers every so often. The voice had been so quiet that it had seemed like only a soft breeze at first. But the more he visited the dungeon cave, the clearer the voice and his surroundings became. After tonight's nightmare, he wished that everything had remained concealed in the darkness.

"Van are you alright? I heard you scream. Can I come in?" Fiona's concerned voice was slightly muffled, as she knocked on the ashen grey metal door that led to Van's private quarters. Fiona had head Van scream and instantly ran to his room to see if he was alright. She knew that Van had been having vivid dreams that seemed to frighten him and she wanted to know why. But every time she asked him about it he had told her that it was nothing, before he had insisted that she return to bed, and when she pushed him to answer he glared at her and told her to leave it alone before he would leave his room and not return until morning. He seemed to return to his usual self by morning, but Fiona could tell that he was not fine, and that those dreams bothered him quite a bit, no matter how much he denied it.

"Yeah, you can come in Fiona." Was the quiet, monotone reply from the young Zoid pilot. When Fiona entered the standard sized room, she immediately looked towards the small bed that was stationed in the farthest left corner of the room. The bed sat horizontally to a large uncovered window which let the two moons silvery beams illuminate the bedroom. When Fiona looked for Van to be in his bed, she was surprised to find it empty; the covers were rumpled at the foot of the bed and she could see the darkened imprint of a body that was left from heavy perspiration. "Van?" Fiona sorrowfully whispered to herself when she saw the spiky dark haired teen standing in front of his window, his back to her. He was just standing there like a statue, his dark irises gazing fixatedly into the darkness of night. Occasionally his eyes drifted forlornly to the two moons before his gaze returned to the dark horizon.

Slowly, Fiona walked towards the window and came to a stop beside the taller male teen. Her bright ruby irises were downcast to her pale, bare feet. She desperately wanted to ask Van what he had been dreaming about, but she knew that he would just tell her not to worry about it. However, he had been pushing her away for too long and tonight, she was determined to get an answer. Even if it made Van angry, she was tired of him trying to cope with his obvious distress on his own. Just as Fiona looked up and began to open her mouth to ask him about his nightmare, Van beat her to it. "You don't have to ask anymore, Fiona. I'll tell you what I've been dreaming about for the last month… if you really want to know." The tone of voice that Van used was enough for Fiona to know that Van had been crying and he was trying to cover it up, but his voice also sounded defeated and it nearly broke her heart to hear such misery in his usually jovial voice.

Fiona was speechless, so she just nodded her head in surprised acceptance and patiently waited for Van to speak. The room remained dead silent for several minutes, which made Fiona wonder if Van had changed his mind. "Van?" The blonde haired girl asked quietly as she placed a soft hand on his slightly sweaty bare shoulder, only to feel that his muscles were tensed. He released a silent sigh at her gentle touch, before moving his gaze to the two crescent moons. "When I was born," Van started with an emotionless tone. "I wasn't the only one born from my mother's womb that night. Six minutes after I was brought into this world, another came along. My younger twin, my baby sister… Nali Flyheight. The dreams I've been having are about her."

"I never knew you had a twin sister, Van. Why didn't I see her when we were at the Wind Colony?" Fiona asked with a perplexed look on her face. Fiona's mind was reeling with so many questions that it nearly gave her a headache. Why had Van never mentioned another sister? Why had he and Maria acted like they never had a younger sister? Why were there no pictures of her at the Flyheight home? Why was there no evidence that she ever lived there? Did she run away? Or did something bad happen to make them want to forget? What could have happened to the youngest Flyheight?

"Because… she was kidnapped a week after our sixth birthday, while we were playing away from the village… we weren't supposed to be that far away. Our Dad was off fighting in the war and our mom and Maria were working at the house. I told mom that I'd take care of Nali and that we'd be home before lunch… but, I broke those promises. It was my fault that she was taken. She didn't want to go that far away, but I told her that nothing bad would happen and no one would ever know… I was wrong and it caused me to lose both my baby sister and our mom. When the men came, I tried to fight them but I was too weak! I can still remember her screaming for me to help her as they dragged her into the truck." Van ended angrily, his fists clenched tightly as he tried to force his tears back, but it didn't work, and warm, salty tears flowed from his eyes like a raging river.

"Oh Van!" Fiona gasped as tears of her own fell from her eyes, before she reached out and pulled the sobbing spiky haired teen into a firm, consoling hug. Now Fiona understood why Van didn't want to talk about his dreams. It brought back such painful memories that nearly broke him and even though he was only six years old at the time, he still blamed himself for not being strong enough to save his sister and the added weight of his mother and father's death soon after, it was more than enough to crush anyone. Fiona was surprised that it hadn't crushed him already, but she knew that he probably forced himself to become stronger so that something like that would never happen again and if it did, then he would be strong enough to fight against it and win.

"You don't have to say anymore Van, if you don't want to. If it hurts too much then I'll understand. I don't want to hurt you by bringing anymore bad memories back." Fiona sadly told Van, having now began to regret asking him to tell her about his dreams. He didn't want to tell her and that should have been where she left it. But she was too selfish and wanted an answer. Now she wished that she would have just let it go. "No. I have—no, I _need_ to tell you. I've kept this to myself for too long and you deserve to know why I haven't been myself lately." Van spoke through clenched teeth, forcing his tears to stop as he did return the comforting hug that Fiona gave him. With a deep calming breath, Van wiped away his fallen tears and began to finish his tale.

"In my dreams, I'm in a dark dungeon-like cave… There is only a fragment of light in the entire place, but it looks like it is coming from me, and I don't have a light source. It's strange… it's like it is coming from within me or something. And then there is this voice… It's coming from my mind, and yet it sounds like it's echoing off of the barren walls of the cave at the same time. The voice tells me to run. To run and don't stop or she'll fade into the darkness and never return, unless I get to her first. Then it says that she'll die if the darkness takes her. And just before I get to her, I hear her scream and I wake up in a cold sweat. I'm reaching out to her and she's always just out of my reach. Just like when we were six…"


	2. Chapter One: Lost, But Never Forgotten

**Chapter One:**

_Lost, but Never Forgotten_

The next morning, when the majority of Van's friends groggily entered the mess hall, all of them were surprised to see a wide-awake Van and Fiona already sitting at the large table that the mismatched group had chosen for themselves when they had first moved to the new base. The ever loyal, silvery white Organoid Zeke was curled up by Van's feet, like a dog, snoring lightly. The two teens looked so awake that they had to have been awake for a couple hours at least, for Van was well known for being the last person to awaken in the mornings. So this new turn of events was shocking, to say the least.

When the group reached the table and sat down in their usual seats, they immediately saw that both Van and Fiona were looking over several large maps. Apparently they were zoned in on only the papers that lay before them, as neither even glanced up to return the sleepy 'good mornings' that they were greeted with. There were also about half a dozen other maps that were carelessly tossed aside, which made half of the table indistinguishable beneath all of the large charts. The busy duo only muttered a quick, almost careless 'good morning' back before swiftly delving their attention to their current chart, all the while muttering incoherently among themselves.

This strange set of events went on for a good twenty minutes or longer, before both Irvine and Thomas finally had enough of the duo's '_top secret_' conversation and quiet arguments. Thomas was the first to bolt to his feet in aggravation, but Irvine beat the blond to confronting them. "Alright, I've had enough of this! Now tell us what's going on you two." Both Van and Fiona nearly jumped out of their seats at the sudden anger in their friend's voice, while Zeke jumped to his feet at the unexpected interruption of his nap. The two teens had been so busy trying to figure out where any dungeon-like cave might be located, that they had completely ignored their friends, who were now all starting at them like they had two heads or something.

"We're sorry Irvine, guys we didn't mean to ignore you like that. We were just looking for something…" Van quietly trailed off. He was greatly embarrassed that he had completely ignored everyone except Fiona, who was helping him. A faint hint of a rosy pink blush brushed across his face, which he unsuccessfully tried to hide by fidgeting with the edges of the map in front of him. Last night after he told her everything and had finished crying, Fiona had been the one to suggest that they borrow the maps that both the Empire and the Republic had brought to the new base and search for a place that might resemble the cave from his dreams and maybe, he would find a clue as to the location of his sister.

He hoped that she might be in that cave, if they could find it. No, there was no _'if'_ about it. They would find her. They had too. It had been far too long since they parted and Nali needed to come back home, where she belonged. She may have been lost for now, but she would never be forgotten, especially by him, her big brother. "Van, I think we should tell them. They have a right to know. If we are going to leave tomorrow, then they need to know why." Fiona told Van softly, knowing that if he told someone other than her about Nali and what had happened to her, that maybe he wouldn't have to hold all of the pain and responsibility on his shoulders anymore. They had friends who would understand and help, if only they knew. They would also help Van shoulder the guilt; after all it wasn't his fault, he was only a child when it happened and now he wouldn't have to fight alone.

"Yeah, I guess you're right Fiona. I owe everyone that much at least." Van spoke quietly, absentmindedly flipping the edge of the dark tan map to and fro. His mind was relaying over his dreams and childhood memories of Nali. But what caught his attention the most, and instantly caused his blood to freeze in his very veins, was her screams. She sounded so frightened and lost. If his heart could literally be broken in to a million pieces, then her voice from his nightmares was the very thing that could cause such a thing to happen. He had to save her. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It was just something that needed to be done and promptly.

"Well, when I was six…" Van proceeded to tell his friends about his baby sister and what had happened to her. As soon as he began telling his friends, the heavy weight that had settled itself deep within his heart began to gradually grow lighter and lighter, causing him gain a new sense of hope. With their help, he would definitely find Nali. He just knew it.

* * *

The mid-afternoon sunbeams harshly beat down upon a vast and desolate desert wasteland. The erg was a large, relatively flat area covered with miles of wind-swept sand. Nothing but rolling crescent-shaped sand dunes and the occasional boulder could be spotted, as far as the eye could see. The vegetation was exceedingly thin. Shade was virtually unavailable, and the water sources were sparse. How anything could possibly survive in such a desiccated and lifeless place was one of life's greatest mysteries.

The grainy, bronze colored sand seemingly tried to swallowed dark leather, boot-clad feet as the owner trekked slowly across the top of a tall sand dune. The individual was wearing a thin but resilient material ankle length shadow colored cloak, with the hood pulled over their head successfully shadowing their facial features. The young man, for it was a member of the male gender, wasn't quite sure as to why exactly he was trudging across a vast no man's land in the middle of the day. It was nothing short of suicide if he became lost and could not find his way back to his Zoid or his loyal, but moody Organoid partner. He did have a water canteen but it wouldn't last for very long in the sweltering heat.

Something had been bothering and constantly nagging at his mind lately. It was a slight pull that gradually became stronger as the days went on and now, here he was. He had been having strange dreams of this very desert. In his dreams he was strangely wearing the exact clothing that he now wore and even more strangely he was making the same trek as in his dreams. His feet just seemed to lead him unconsciously towards something deep within the desert. He didn't have a clue as to what exactly he was supposed to be looking for or find out here. It had been just on a whim of pure boredom and the strange tugging feeling that had made him stop and walk out into the desert. Suddenly the cloaked male stopped, his senses alert and his body tense.

Despite all impossible odds he had thought that someone had whispered his name. It wasn't possible… unless this whole thing was a trap or just an illusion of his mind. Minutes went by, before he decided that it was just his mind playing tricks on him and he went to move forward, but before he could even take one step, a soft warm breeze fluttered across the sand covered wasteland. The warm gentle wind seemed to dance playfully across his skin, making his hood and cloak tail swish delicately in the waft. The zephyr seemed to swirl around him for a few seconds before it moved away from him, bringing with it his cloak tail. It was almost like the draft was trying to lead him towards something, beckoning him forward.

If he unwisely followed in that direction then he would be heading deeper and deeper into the ocean of sand where he would surely find only a hot grave. Yet, he subconsciously took a step in that direction when he heard the soft whisper of his name come again. As crazy as it sounded, and it did sound very stupid, the young man came to realize that the wind was calling his name. _'Clearly, I have gone insane from the heat,'_ He silently mused to himself in dark humor as he followed the distant whisper of his name deeper into the deadly unknown.

The young man wasn't quite sure how long he had been following the whispering breeze, but somehow it had seemed like he had been walking forever, yet at the same time it felt so surreal, like he was dreaming. He knew that this wasn't one of his dreams though, because the heavily painful rays of sunshine beat down upon him like a million angry fists, and you weren't supposed to feel pain in you dreams. Or at least he never had. He had thought about turning around a while back, but now that he had come this far, turning back now would be completely pointless. Besides his curiosity had been piqued, if only ever so slightly and he had nothing else to do.

Suddenly the humid breeze that the man had grown accustomed to vanished, like it had never even existed in the first place. This instantly caused the cloaked man to stop and gaze around at his unfamiliar surroundings with narrowed eyes. The young man cursed quietly yet violently when he saw nothing familiar. He couldn't even spot his large bright crimson colored Zoid and he was standing on a tall sand dune, if not the tallest. Just how far had he traveled away from where he had stopped his Zoid? This was great, just great! He had foolishly walked off into a desert, lost sight of his Zoid and his Organoid and on top of it all, he had gotten himself lost. Who in their right mind would ever do something so incredibly stupid?

The young man scowled and narrowed his dark grey-violet eyes in anger. How could he have been so careless? With narrowed eyes the young man calculatingly observed his surroundings again, to see if he had over looked anything. As he raked his obviously irate gaze over the bronze ocean of sand once more, he suddenly spotted something strange and out of place in the sandy environment. What he had first assumed to be only a small boulder or strangely shaped rock now appeared to be something totally different. Curiosity drove him to get closer and further examine the abnormality. His steps were slow and precise as he ventured closer and closer to the lump on the sand. The closer he got to the lump, the more details he could make out about it.

Shockingly the thing started to look more and more like a clothed, human body. A human body, that appeared to have been partially buried beneath the grainy sand. The young man stood only about two feet away from the lump before he realized just how unbelievingly right he had been. It was indeed a body, and from what he could tell, its gender was more than likely female. His conclusion came from the waist length, straight dark brunette colored hair and the slender form beneath sand and cloth. Slowly he approached the body and was surprised to see that she was slowly breathing, as if only in a deep sleep. Though he very much doubted that she was asleep of her own free will. She had probably fallen unconscious due to dehydration and the heat.

Quickly he trudged over and kneeled down by the face down girl, before he reached out and turned her over, so her face was no longer buried in the sand. The young man was momentarily stunned when he caught a glimpse of the young girl's face. She couldn't have been much younger than he, possibly a year or so. Her youthful face was round giving her an innocent, adolescent image. She had thick dark eyelashes that were framed by delicately arched eyebrows, a small feminine nose that could have been considered cute and thin lips, which were cracked and dry from the heat. She was rather attractive, but the young man was considerably more concerned as to how long the young girl had been laying unconscious in the middle of the desert. By all rights she should have been dead already, but her pulse was strong despite her shallow breathing.

With great care, the cloaked man propped the young girl's head upon his knee and pulled out his canteen. The girl would certainly die if she didn't receive any water into her system. After he uncorked the lid of the canteen the young man carefully wet his pointed and middle finger with some of the water and gently ran them over her dry, cracked lips. He repeated this administration several times before he carefully placed the canteen to the girl's mouth and allowed a small amount of water to enter her mouth. Subconsciously she tried to swallow the cool liquid, but when she stated lightly choking the man lightly ran his fingers over the girl's throat to help her swallow.

After giving her another two small swallows of water, he placed the canteen back inside of his cloak and just stared down at the young girl's appearance for a few moments, in subdued wonder. He noticed, upon closer inspection of the meager clothing that the girl wore, he discovered that she was wearing what appeared to be some sort of old and ratty cloak much like his own. Only hers was much thinner and it also appeared somewhat rotted from old age. It was also the only clothing she appeared to be wearing from what little the thinned material of the cloak covered. She was also strangely barefooted and the skin that was uncovered was turning an ugly, blistering red under the unforgiving sun. What a pitiful sight she was, with no shoes, no water and not even a decent cloak to cover her thin body with.

With a tired sigh and a careful hand the man covered as much of the girl's skin from the sun as possible with her raggedy cloak, while also keeping her body hidden from his view, before he picked the girl up bridal style, mindful of her sunburned and blistered skin. Just as the man stood up from the sand covered ground, the same warm breeze that had lead him to the girl swirled around him once more and he silently followed it back towards the direction that he had come from and hopefully back to his red paneled Geno Breaker and his dark coal colored Organoid, Shadow.


	3. Chapter Two: Realization and Blue Eyes

**Chapter Two:**

_Realization and Blue Eyes_

After Van had finished telling his friends about his past, everyone remained silent for several minutes, before Moonbay finally spoke. "Van, why didn't you tell us? We're your friends. You don't have to shoulder this or anything else alone. Friends are there to help each other and we can't help you if you leave us in the dark." Moonbay's words hit Van hard. He knew that they would understand and that they would help him as much as they could, but Van didn't think that any of them, except maybe Irvine, could really understand what he was going through. It wasn't their responsibility to bring Nali back. It was his and his alone. They hadn't let her be kidnapped, he had, and Van felt like he alone should shoulder all the guilt for it.

"You guys shouldn't-" Van started monotonously, but the angry voice of Moonbay cut his sentence off quickly, like a hot knife through butter. "Stop right there Van! _We are your friends,_ and I don't think that you are taking our feelings into consideration here. We _want_ to help you find your sister and we _want_ to help you through your feelings, but we _can't_ because _you_ are acting like a child!" The brown eyed girl angrily chastised the stubborn eighteen-year-old boy. Moonbay was beyond angry as her brown eyes narrowed into small slits when Van didn't respond to her outburst. "Moonbay's right, Van," Fiona spoke softly, "It hurts _us_ when we see you in so much turmoil and pain. And you won't even tell us what's wrong, so we can help. It's like you don't trust us enough."

The blonde haired girl was now in tears. She stared at her silent boyfriend for a moment before she quickly fled from the room. Her emotions were so chaotic that she just couldn't stay in the room any longer. She loved Van with all of her being, but his silence hurt her more than he would ever know. "Look at what you've done now Van!" Moonbay snapped at the disorientated teen, before the angry transporter ran after her upset friend. Van could do nothing but watch, as his best friend ran after his distraught girlfriend. Fiona's tears, words, and Moonbay's anger, were all enough for the young teen to decide that in keeping his silence and distancing himself from everyone had only served to make things worse. Still, he felt like he was a burden to them, especially now.

All he could think about was finding Nali and bringing her back to where she belonged and he did not even know where she was at, or even where to start looking. Everything was starting to fall apart around him and Van could only standby and watch. Nali wasn't the only one who needed rescuing, but who was going to save him? "Van look, I understand how you feel and I know what you're going through. But if you keep pushing us away, you're going to destroy yourself in the end. Trust me, this is something that you can't and shouldn't do on your own. So let us help you." Irvine sternly told the depressed looking teen, who had become one of his most trusted friends. Fiona was right. Van's silent internal pain was hurting them all. Irvine had been through almost the same thing with his little sister Helena. Only he could not save her, but Van could save Nali, just not alone.

Thomas had been still and silent throughout the entire argument. He wasn't sure what to say, or how he could make Van realize that he needed them as much as they needed him. Thomas had never known what it was like to lose a sibling, unlike the two dark haired men. He silently prayed that he never had the chance to find out. He didn't always get along with Karl, but that didn't mean that he ever wanted to lose his elder brother. Family was family, no matter what. "Van, we'll help you to the best of our abilities, but you have to let us." Thomas finally spoke, his voice was quiet yet it held a stern edge. Van had always been more than a little on the stubborn side. This was pushing it though, and Thomas Richard Schubaltz had never been the most patient man.

"Guys…" Van trailed off into a thoughtful silence, before looking back up at his friends and asking, "How do I make things right?" Van was lost. The miserable look in his dark eyes and the low, bland tone of his voice was a clear indicator to the two elder men that Van was almost ready to break. Whoever said that '_time heals everything_' was dead wrong. For Van, the passing of time had only made things worse. "Well," Irvine started in a firm tone, "the first thing you need to do is let us help you. No questions asked. Do you think you can do that, kid?" Irvine gave the depressed looking teen a pointed look, before resuming his chastising tirade. "The second thing you really need to do is wipe that depressing look from your face, and the third and most important thing you need to do, is go find Fiona and Moonbay and apologize to them for being Zi's biggest idiot."

Van's lips eased into a small, appreciative smile. The smile barely reached his dark eyes, but there was a tiny spark of the old Van shining in his eyes now. Both Irvine and Thomas were glad to see it. Van hadn't truly been himself for over a month and now that everyone knew why, things were bound to get better, or so everyone hoped. "I'm gonna go find Fiona and Moonbay. Thanks for everything, guys." Van told the two men before practically running out of the room calling out for the two girls. Irvine was happy that the kid was starting to act like himself again and he didn't have the heart to tell Van that finding his little sister would be almost impossible. However, the sandy brunette haired man had discovered that with Van, the nearly impossible could be done. He had witnessed it from first hand experiences.

The kid was special like that; it was a trait that Irvine had always admired about the younger man. Irvine had faith in Van's remarkable abilities to turn the impossible into the achievable and he also had faith in Van's love for his little sister. If there was one thing that should never be doubted, it was the love of an older brother. With Van and Nali being twins, there was a close bond between them that no one and nothing could break. It was a unique connection that only twins possessed. If she was still alive, as Van's instinct knew, then they would find her. However, what Van did not seem to realize or consider, and Irvine was disinclined to say aloud, was the improbable possibility of someone else stumbling upon her before they did or worst case she had forgotten about her old life.

* * *

As the bronze sandy terrain slowly faded into a largely barren hard, rocky plateau Raven sighed deeply in relief, when he spotted his bright red paneled Geno Breaker. While he had been following the warm, gentle wind Raven had sworn to himself that he would never walk into a desert again. As if chasing after something in a dream had not been strange enough, he had to find a passed out, dehydrated and practically unclothed girl as well. What a way to top off his strange day.

The girl, or rather, the young _woman_ did not weigh much at all. Raven guessed that the woman weighed a little more than 100 pounds at the most, which was a bit worrisome. The girl had a rather petite sized body structure, but Raven was not sure whether it was because she was under-fed or if she was just a light weighted person. Raven had never been one to socialize and now here he was taking responsibility for this woman's life. Raven knew that he was the last person who should be responsible for someone's well-being, especially someone who looked as fragile as the young unconscious woman lying in his arms did.

He would have asked Reese for her help in dealing with the young woman, but as his luck would have it, she was gone. The blue haired Zoidian woman had taken her cerulean Organoid companion, Specula and left. It had been almost a year ago and he had not seen her since. Raven had assumed that the Zoidian woman had wanted to take some time to be by her self. After all, they had been sharing such a small space at Raven's _'house'_, though in all reality it looked more like a dump than an actual home. There was a never-ending list of things that were wrong with the deteriorating, two-story home and Raven cursed the place more often than not, but it was his home and he would not trade it for another.

Even with its annoying lose, creaking floorboards that felt like they would cave-in under his feet at any time, to the cracked and pealing wall paint that was probably a nice off-white color once, but had faded into a dirty brown over time. Not to mention at there was no indoor faucet or running water, so if he wanted a bath Raven had to draw up water from the well and heat the water in various sized pots on his stove. The only thing about his home that Raven never cursed to the pits of hell was that it offered him privacy from people, namely the ones from the Guardian Force. It was secluded enough to suit Raven's requirement for privacy, yet close enough to a small town so if he needed food or a doctor then he would not have to travel too far.

Looking back on it, Raven should have known that the cerulean haired Zoidian woman was eventually going to leave. The signs were all there, but he had not paid attention to them. It was a few weeks after the defeat of Hiltz and the resurrected Deathsaurer that Reese had started to distance herself from Raven's company. She was always looking out into the horizon, as if she was looking or waiting for something, or perhaps someone. Raven had awkwardly asked her about it once. The short answer she had given him was puzzling and he still could not make since of it. _'I'm lost here, Raven.' _The Zoidian woman's words were strange, but maybe Reese could finally find a place where she truly belonged. After all, she deserved to find happiness, unlike him.

Happiness and peace of mind, those things were impossible for him to find, let alone keep. He wanted them yes, he so very much wanted them, but they were not his to have. Raven had known this since he had his memories re-awakened by the blue haired Zoidian woman. The things he had done were completely unforgiveable and he would not even try to ask for forgiveness, as he did not deserve to be forgiven. However, he _would_ atone for all of his sins one day.

Glancing down at the comatose girl in his arms, Raven silently wondered about how and why she ended up in the middle of the desert, with only a tattered old cloak for clothing. Raven realized he knew absolutely nothing about her, and yet, he had been drawn to her nonetheless. It had not just been the strange dreams or the mysterious breeze. Something else, something inside of him had compelled him to seek out what had been lost within the desert, to search for and find her. Whoever she was or whatever she might have done didn't matter to him. When she was able to care properly for herself, she could do whatever she wanted. Until that time came however, he would look after her to the best of his abilities.

When Raven was within rock throwing distance from the crimson paneled Zoid, his shadow colored Organoid lazily uncurled himself from the ball he had coiled himself into and stood up with a low growl. With the utmost slowness, the opaque colored Organoid stretched his limbs and flapped his wings several times, before stepping from the large shadow of the Geno Breaker and into the harsh desert sunlight and walked towards his human companion.

As Raven drew closer to his crimson Zoid, he noticed that Shadow was walking towards him, so when they were close enough the cloaked boy called out a soft greeting, consisting of only his organoid's name, so neither he nor Shadow would arouse the young girl in his arms from her sleep. With the soft greeting, Shadow growled softly in reply, before stepping closer to inspect the limp cloaked lump in Raven's arms. In turn, Raven stopped walking and let his partner examine the slumbering female in his arms. After a few silent moments, the dark organoid looked up and met Raven's eyes, before cocking his head to the side in silent question.

"I'll tell you the details later, Shadow. Just know that she will be staying at the house with us for a while. Come on, let's go home." Raven quietly told the dark organoid before walking over to the Geno Breaker and carefully climbing into the cockpit. As cautiously as he could, Raven sat the young girl down in the back seat and buckled her in, making sure to avoid rubbing her burnt skin against anything. Giving the brunette haired girl a careful once-over, Raven noticed with a dark blush, that her cloak was not covering certain parts of her body as well as it had before. Swiftly he removed his cloak and placed it over the young woman like a blanket saving himself from unneeded embarrassment and saving her virtue.

"Just a _girl_ Raven, that's all. Same as Reese no need to be acting so fidgety." Raven mumbled to himself repeatedly as he turned around to buckle himself in, while trying to rid himself of the dark crimson that had made itself home upon his pale features. Too bad that despite all of his efforts, the crimson blush would not go away and neither would the fact that the unconscious brunette haired girl was _nothing_ like Reese in any way. With a sigh, Raven glanced back at his sleeping passenger once more before he flipped a few switches and started the Geno Breaker.

The cockpit shook as the great crimson Zoid stirred to life and began to rise from the sandy ground. As the red paneled Zoid began to move forward silently, Raven glanced back at his silent passenger hoping he had not disturbed her when the Zoid had stood. Thankfully, when he glanced back, her eyes were still closed and she looked just as serene as she had while in his arms and for that he was very thankful. Raven could have smiled at his unusually good stroke of luck. It was a long way back to his house and the last thing Raven wanted or needed was a hysterical, half-naked girl in the back seat of his Zoid. Raven silently prayed that luck stayed with him, so that the girl would stay asleep until he could get her back to his house, dress her wounds and burns and then somehow clothe her in something decent, before she woke up and started questioning or accusing him.

Raven groaned aloud and hung his head in embarrassment, when something dawned on him, _he_ would have to _remove_ the cloaks from her to put new clothing _on_ her. How in the hell was he supposed to do _that_ without looking _at_ her? _'Good Eve help me! What have I gotten myself into now?' _Raven silently cursed, glancing back at the unconscious girl more out of habit than necessity. Such a small girl was causing him such big problems. How was that even possible? Shaking his head to clear his mind of all questions, Raven turned back around to correctly pilot the Geno Breaker, while busying himself with checking all of the specks on the Zoid, knowing full well that he had already checked everything out earlier that morning. Keeping himself busy would affectively keep his mind off his passenger for a while.

Had Raven chosen to keep watch upon his silent passenger just moments longer, he would have noticed the fluttering of long eyelashes, just moments before the young girl's eyelids cracked open to reveal soft, hazy blue eyes. Seconds later her eyelids slid closed once more and the young girl drifted back off into sleep to the gentle rhythm of the walking Zoid and the soft tapping of buttons.


	4. Chapter Three: Promise's under Moonlight

**Chapter Three:**

_Promise's under Moonlight_

Raven had never been happier to see the old condemned hovel he called a home, when he finally made it back just minutes before sunset. The uncomfortably long and silent trip had drained him considerably, but he was determined to not rest until the girl was taken care of. The hatch opened with a soft grinding hiss and Raven slowly stood with a groan, raising his arms above his head in an attempt to relieve the tense ache that had settled in his shoulders and back half-way into the return trip.

With a mute nasal sigh Raven dropped his arms and turned to his unconscious passenger. She was just as he had left her: practically lifeless. Carefully he leaned over the front seat and unbuckled her, before relocating the somewhat misplaced cloaks he had wrapped her so securely in. He was well aware of his not so gentle hold on her as he pulled her from the back seat and into his arms, but he would worry about that later as he did not want to hold her too loosely and have an accident occur.

Shadow, who had been watching his partner skirt so cautiously around the unconscious female human, shook his head and snorted in amusement when the boy nearly slipped and fell while trying to get out of his Zoid in a more careful manner with the girl in his arms. Raven having heard the noise glanced up from the ground and glared, half embarrassed that someone had seen his blundering slip-up, even if it was his Organoid. "What's so funny?" He sneered quietly and the dark Organoid quickly turned his attention to the sandy ground as if there was suddenly something of great interest happening around his clawed feet.

Raven couldn't keep his eyebrow from twitching in annoyance, but sucked in a deep breath and chose to ignore him for the time being. Not one for being subtle Raven used the toe of his boot to nudge the loose, barely-there door open. The deafening creak that followed almost made him cringe, but having heard it so many times he just continued on into the house not even bothering to close the door. It would have been pointless anyway, since it couldn't even withstand a simple nudge.

Raven made a quick mental note to either fix the door or get a new one as soon as possible. After all he did have a new roommate. The whole house seemed to groan as he walked through it, but as always he easily ignored it. Not long after he ascended the stairs, the girl still miraculously unconscious, Raven came to the first door on the second story and walked in. The room itself was almost as shabby as the rest of the house, but looked more lived in and kept-up. The walls weren't as deteriorated and actually had metal that was bent into random decorative shapes, nailed to the wall.

The curtains were pitch-black and looked relatively brand-new as well as the white, ash grey and arsenic colored bed sheets. The scattered furniture looked a little on the used side, but not terribly so. A sense of relief fell over Raven as he stepped into his room and laid the girl on his bed, above the sheets. _'Finally, I'm home.'_ He couldn't stop the comforting thought from passing through his mind as he breathed in the familiar scent of his laundry detergent.

Tentatively Raven brushed the long dark locks of hair out of the girl's face with a thoughtful frown tugging at the corners of his lips. She was such a mystery to him. She was so soft looking, but there had to be a deep hidden willpower in her somewhere, otherwise she would have already met a gruesome end in the desert. A shuffling noise near his doorway caught Raven's attention and when he looked up and over to the entrance he smirked. "You're being awfully helpful," He commented offhandedly when Shadow walked over and dropped the medical kit into his outstretched hand.

"Have you grown a heart without me noticing?" The blue eyed Organoid gave a low warning growl at the jab, before he turned away from the snickering Raven and shuffled over to the darkest corner of the room and lay down. Raven watched the sulking Organoid for a few moments with something of an affectionate expression on his face, before he turned all of his attention to his 'patient' with crinkled brows. "Now, where to start," He mumbled to himself while checking her over, only to realize that her sunburns still looked bad.

"Guess I'd better treat those before they get worse." He eyed the bright pink blisters with a scowl, remembering that some of them were located close to parts of her body he was uncomfortable with getting so acquainted with. His eyes narrowed and against his will a slight blush began to paint his cheeks. He grit his teeth in frustration, well aware of the gloating stare Shadow was sending his way. "I can do this, just you watch." He challenged the silently laughing Organoid with determined grey-violet eyes, before unlatching the med-kit and pulling out a bottle of green pain relieving gel.

He laid the gel bottle on the side of the bed and pulled his gloves off with his teeth, before he uncapped the medicine and poured a green glob it into his waiting hand. He shivered when the cool gel hit his heated skin and waited for it to warm a little before he gently began to dab the green goop onto her facial burns. Raven watched her facial expressions warily as he moved from her face to her shoulders and then down to her arms. When that was done without incident, he held in a sigh of relief due to his next challenge: the ones on her legs.

Raven wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve and removed the excess green gunk off his hands with the tail end of her original cloak. He sucked in a deep breath before hesitantly sliding the cloaks up so he could see her wounds, only to falter and drop the fabric when his bare hand accidentally brushed against the skin just above her knee. _'Damn it,'_ He cursed mentally as the blush on his cheeks darkened. Shadow let out an amused snort in the corner but Raven chose to ignore him in favor of getting her blisters medicated so he wouldn't have to be so up-close and personal with her any longer than he had to.

'_Don't wake up; please just don't wake up, yet.'_ He willed her to listen to him without saying the words aloud as he once again attempted to uncover her hidden blisters. This time there was no accidental touching and Raven was able to finish applying the cooling gel and wrapped her more serious burns that looked like they wanted to bleed, just before total darkness swamped the house.

Raven wiped the last remains of the gel off on his pants and carefully moved the girl under the covers, before he snapped the med-kit closed and silently left his room. Shadow eyed the peacefully slumbering girl for a moment before he followed after the tired teen trekking down the deteriorating staircase. When he reached the ground level of the house, Raven carelessly slumped face-down on a tattered couch, the days' events finally catching up to him. With a soft miserable groan, he was reminded of his open door when a chilly desert wind whistled into the living room and rattled the loose curtain hangers.

Still he remained in his prone position, not willing to get up, even to close the wide-open door. He was too tired to care. Shadow shuffled into the dark living room, dodging furniture and randomly strewn objects, such as a toolbox Raven had been using to repair the worst floorboards yesterday, with practiced ease. "Could you get the door?" Raven murmured sleepily into the asparagus and arylide yellow fabric of the couch. Shadow cocked his head to the side in contemplation before he silently did as he was asked. Raven was already fast asleep by the time the dark Organoid curled up at the foot of the couch and made himself comfortable.

* * *

Miles and miles away from the old home a relatively small group of people just finished setting up their camp for the night. Most of them were enjoying a warm meal around the campfire, but one solitary body had strayed away from the group and was perched on the massive clawed foot of his Blade Liger. His dark eyes trained on the glowing twin moons. _'Van you're silly,'_ she giggled and spun around to grab his hand in her tiny one. Her eyes were dark, yet as bright as any sun, as she latched onto him with a smile of pure joy. _'No matter what happens, even if we're far, far apart we'll always be together, just like the moons. They're twins too, you know and momma always said that as long as there are two moons in the night sky, we'll never lose our connection.'_

"As long as there are two moons, I'll never lose you, Nali." Van repeated with a sad smile as the moonlight began to break through the clouds and cast a mystical silvery-blue glow upon the landscape. The white Organoid at his side made a soft growling noise, which was almost a purr and gently butted his head against Van's leg. Van turned to Zeke and his smile brightened. "She told me that, years ago, you know. She had a deep fascination with the moons back then. I didn't really understand it then, but maybe she was right." He chuckled and pat his white partner on his soft metal snout. "The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that she was right, and to think I laughed at her for thinking such a crazy thing."

'_If the moons really are connected, like we are, like you said, then I hope they can somehow send this message to you: I know you're out there Nali, just wait a little longer. I'm coming to bring you home.'_ He wished so much that his words would somehow get to her, so that she wouldn't lose faith in him for taking so long to get to her. For now he would just have to believe in her words and trust her beliefs.

Back at Raven's house the dark haired girl began to stir in her sleep. She sighed softly and murmured incoherent words as she dreamed. Light and laughter were the first things that she became aware of. The laugher was soft, made by children and the light was from an unhindered afternoon sun shining down upon a pair of children running down a sand dune. One of them was a young boy with dark spiky hair in a pony tail. He had the little dark brunette haired girl by the hand and was leading her along, both of them laughing, even when the little boy accidentally tripped over his own two feet and slid down the dune face first.

The little girl was worried and called out to him with muted words, but the boy quickly jumped to his feet, spitting out sand as he laughed. When he turned to look back at the little girl, muted words upon his smiling lips the image faded into black nothingness, before his face could be revealed. _'Just wait a little longer; I'm coming to bring you home.'_ A distorted voice whispered into her sub-consciousness and the fretful girl eased back into a quiet rest. The silvery-blue moonlight caught a break in the pitch-black curtain drawn over the window and shone more brightly when it hit her peaceful face. "I know you'll find me," She whispered softly, unaware of anything outside of her slumber as her fist tightened around the multicolored sheets.


End file.
